A comparison of avoidance and rejection responses elicited by conditionally and unconditionally aversive tasting solutions

doi:10.1016/0023-9690(88)90022-7

Learning and Motivation

Volume 19, Issue 1, February 1988, Pages 1-12

https://doi.org/10.1016/0023-9690(88)90022-7 Get rights and content

Abstract

The patterns of taste avoidance responses and taste reactivity responses elicited by either lithium-paired sucrose solution or 0.05% quinine solution were compared. In Experiment 1, rats showed equivalent avoidance of CS⁺ sucrose which had been paired with LiCl on one occasion as they did of 0.05% quinine solution, even though the quinine was rejected in the taste reactivity test much more vigorously than was the lithium-paired sucrose. In Experiment 2, a similar relationship between the development of the avoidance response and the rejection responses was maintained over four conditioning/testing trials. The occurrence of the avoidance response preceded the occurrence of rejection responses. In fact, after two sucrose-lithium pairings, the rats demonstrated stronger avoidance of the CS⁺ sucrose solution, but demonstrated stronger rejection of the quinine solution. The results suggest that a palatability shift accompanies, but is not the only factor which motivates, a lithium-based conditioned taste avoidance.

References (13)

H. Grill et al.
The taste reactivity test. I: Mimetic responses to gustatory stimuli in neurologically normal rats
Brain Research
(1978)
L.A. Parker
Conditioned suppression of drinking: A measure of the CR elicited by a lithium-conditioned flavor
Learning and Motivation
(1980)
L.A. Parker
Nonconsummatory and consummatory behavioral CRs elicited by lithium- and amphetamine-paired flavors
Learning and Motivation
(1982)
L.A. Parker
Behavioral conditioned responses across multiple conditioning/testing trials elicited by lithium- and amphetamine-paired flavors
Behavioral and Neural Biology
(1984)
L.A. Parker et al.
Orofacial and somatic responses elicited by lithium-, nicotine-, and amphetamine-paired sucrose solution
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
(1986)
P. Rozin et al.
The psychological categorization of foods and non-foods: A preliminary toxonomy of food rejections
Appetite
(1980)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (22)

Evidence of hypoglycemic anhedonia and modulation by bupropion in rats
2021, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
Tongue protrusions are an appetitive behavior operationalized as the number of times the rat extends its tongue from its mouth (Levy et al., 2015). Gaping is an aversive behavior operationalized as the triangular shaped opening of the mouth with rapid lowering of the mandible and retraction of the lower lip revealing the lower incisors (Parker, 1988). This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of 2-DG on operant responding on a FR1 schedule of reinforcement.
Disorders characterized by dysfunction of glucose metabolism are often comorbid with depression. The current study investigated whether a hypoglycemic state caused by 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) can result in anhedonic behaviors responsive to stimulation of monoamine activity.
In experiment 1, male Sprague-Dawley rats were tested for maintenance of intra-oral self-administration (IOSA) of a sweet solution after pre-treatment with 300 or 500 mg/kg 2-DG, a blocker of glucose metabolism. Experiment 2 determined whether exposure to an environment previously paired with the effects of 2-DG (0, 200 or 300 mg/kg) can influence IOSA, and whether 2-DG can modify taste reactivity to same sweet solution. Finally, experiment 3 examined whether 0 or 30 mg/kg bupropion, a monoamine-reuptake blocker, would attenuate the effect of 300 mg/kg 2-DG on IOSA and taste reactivity.
It was found that 2-DG produced a sustained decrease in IOSA when animals were tested drug-free. This decrease in IOSA did not appear linked to place conditioning or to alterations in taste reactivity, and it was partially normalized by pre-treatment with bupropion.
Taken together, these results in rats suggest that rapid hypoglycemia can induce an anhedonic state characterized by impaired consummatory responses to nutritional incentive stimuli and that can be alleviated by the antidepressant bupropion.
Effect of exposure to lithium-paired or amphetamine-paired saccharin solution on open arm avoidance in an elevated plus maze
2006, Learning and Motivation
Recent evidence suggests that drug-induced conditioned taste avoidance may be mediated by conditioned fear (e.g., Parker, 2003). The experiments reported here evaluated the effect of exposure to a drug-paired flavor on open arm exploration in an elevated plus maze (EPM), a measure of fear. When rats were tested on a familiar (trial 2) EPM, but not on a novel (trial 1) EPM, prior exposure to a lithium-paired saccharin solution enhanced open arm activity relative to saline-paired saccharin. On the other hand, when rats were exposed to lithium-paired saccharin during plus maze exposure, they displayed suppressed open arm activity relative to unpaired controls when tested in a familiar maze. The pattern of results was specific to the conditional affective properties of the taste, because exposure to unconditional sickness produced by administration of lithium, and unconditionally unpalatable quinine solution did not produce this pattern. These results were interpreted in terms of the opponent process model of motivation; that is, exposure to a lithium-paired flavor elicits conditioned fear which is immediately followed by conditioned relief when the exposure is terminated. On the other hand, exposure to an amphetamine-paired flavor either before or during EPM testing enhanced open arm exploration. Since the strength of taste avoidance did not differ among amphetamine and lithium conditioned rats, these results provide further evidence that the nature of a saccharin–lithium association differs from that of a saccharin–amphetamine association.
Mimetic behavior of rats in flavor aversion learning
1994, Behavioural Processes
Rats exposed to odor (almond), taste (saccharin) or an odor/taste-compound (almond/ saccharin) in a one-trial conditioning were subsequently poisoned with lithium chloride either 5 min (Ex) or 16 h (Co) after drinking. We measured various behavioral CRs elicited by these conditioned stimuli. All stimuli and compounds produced strong flavor aversions and elicited a pattern of agitated behavior characterized by increased general activity, rearing, and the specific mimetic response ‘gaping’ in the experimental groups. No comparable patterns were observed in the control groups. In the compound-experimental group an overshadowing effect for the odor component by the new taste was found. However, odor in this condition still elicited somewhat reduced drinking and the typical aversive reaction pattern. Behaviors induced by pairing odor with illness were more strongly controlled by the presence of the poisoned odor in the compound condition than in the odor condition. The compound experimental group discriminated more strongly, in general, behaviors and in their mimetic responses between the time when odor was presented or not in a test procedure, which alternated poisoned odor and air.
Aversive taste reactivity: Reactivity to quinine predicts aversive reactivity to lithium-paired sucrose solution
1994, Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
The ability of a rat's reactivity to the aversive taste properties of quinine to predict its' reactivity to the aversive taste properties of a lithium-paired sucrose solution were assessed. In phase 1, all rats were intraorally infused with 0.05% quinine solution over a 2-min taste reactivity (TR) test. On the basis of their composite aversive reactions, rats were divided into high reactors (HiQ) and low reactors (LoQ). In phase 2, rats were given three TR conditioning/testing trials in which they received a 2-min intraoral infusion of 0.5 M sucrose solution immediately followed by an IP injection of either 127.2 mg/kg lithium chloride or physiological saline. Among rats conditioned with lithium during phase 2, the phase-1 quinine HiQs displayed more aversive reactions than did the phase-1 quinine LoQs. This suggests that reactivity to the aversive properties of quinine may predict the strength of conditioned palatability shifts to a lithium-paired sucrose solution.
Naltrexone-induced aversions: Assessment by place conditioning, taste reactivity, and taste avoidance paradigms
1992, Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
The reinforcing/aversive properties of various doses of naltrexone (0.01, 1, and 10 mg/kg) were assessed in three experiments that employed place conditioning, taste reactivity, and taste avoidance paradigms. Naltrexone produced a place aversion and a taste aversion, but did not produce aversive taste reactivity responses, even at the highest dose (10 mg/kg) tested. This suggests that drugs that produce a place aversion do not necessarily produce a conditional dislike for a flavored solution with which they are paired.
Ontogenetic differences in CS palatability following conditioned taste aversion training
1991, Learning and Motivation
Five- and 15-day-old rats learned to reject a 15% sucrose solution when it was paired with LiCl, footshock, or citric acid solution. Aversions were matched across conditioning with the various reinforcers in terms of amount consumed during test (Experiment 1). Subsequent comparisons of conditioned changes in orofacial and other behavioral responses to the sucrose CS (Experiment 2) were performed to assess ontogenetic, qualitative, and functional differences in the aversions established. The 15-day-olds reacted to LiCl-conditioned sucrose as if it were distasteful by displaying paw treading and wall climbing during test, whereas they did not exhibit such responses to footschock- or citric acid-conditioned sucrose. Five-day-olds did not show this pattern of differentiation. They appeared to react similarly to sucrose infusion independent of the US used during conditioning. The present results indicate age-related differences in the acquisition and/or expression of conditioned taste aversions when different USs are employed. However, quality of the US was not the only factor that varied when conditioning with the different reinforcers. It is possible that changes in other parameters such as CS duration, US duration, or number of conditioning trials experienced rather than differences in US consequence could have contributed to the observed results. Generally, the 15-day-olds behaved similarly to adults whereas the 5-day-olds did not. Although conclusions are still tenative, a developmental shift in the mechanism for learning flavor aversions is suggested.

View all citing articles on Scopus

^☆: This work was supported by a grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (A 1474).

View full text

A comparison of avoidance and rejection responses elicited by conditionally and unconditionally aversive tasting solutions☆

Abstract

Brain Research

Learning and Motivation

Learning and Motivation

Behavioral and Neural Biology

Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior

Appetite